On Stage This Week: All seasons, go. Shows running on all mainstages with something for all tastes.

Sorry about being a day late getting this up. My internet was down over the weekend, giving me a lot of catching up to over the last day or so — once the dude basically re-wired the house. But I hope you’re all doing well and have had an excellent week – filled with some great theatre outings as seasons continue to kick off.

Also, I know there’ve been a couple of glitches since the website went back online a couple weeks ago. Working on getting them all sorted out but please feel free to let me know if anything is broken or seeming wrong. We’ll be back up to 100% pretty quickly.

On Stage This Week

Perils of Persephone

Ottawa Little Theatre’s 102nd season kicks off with the government of Ontario working to cover-up the lack of a nuclear accident and attempt to outsmart a small town Ontario farming family to do so in Dan Needles’ Perils of Persephone.

From Allan Mackey’s review: Perils of Persephone is a light-hearted comedy about fossils, radioactive material, cow semen, toxic dumps, and – most importantly – protecting your home. It’s not deep stuff or punch to the gut drama, but it is a solid play with a proven record by a popular Canadian playwright and it’s a fun show to take in. Especially if you like to laugh at the government – and in this city, you kind of have to. (onstageottawa.com/perilsofpersephonereview)

Not much I can add to my own review, so to sum up, Perils of Persephone is a fun show and worth a visit out to Kind Edward. Perils of Persephone runs now through October 4th. (More info: onstageottawa.com/shows/perilsofpersephone)

The Boy in the Moon

The Boy in the Moon follows a set of parents as they deal with the struggles of raising a non-communicative, severely-delayed child who has one of the rarest of genetic disorders. This play explores what it means to be human and what it takes to love someone unconditionally.

From Caitlin Oleson’s review: What is most interesting about this play is how vividly we get a sense of Walker despite his character never being on stage. The end scene in particular is powerful as we realize that we feel like Walker’s been with us from the start, and is now as much a part of us as he is a part of his own family. (onstageottawa.com/theboyinthemoonreview)

My thoughts: The Boy in the Moon plays as a memoir, as one expect from a play based on a memoir. It’s a lot of characters externalizing internal thoughts vocally, with light dramatizations thrown in. This might not be everybody’s cup of tea but on the whole it’s a very solid, well presented look at these character’s lives. It’s touching and thought provoking and makes it hard to escape asking yourself the question – what if that were me? Or more generally, what do we do when love and devotion – to a child, to a parent, to a lover – are hard?

The School for Wives (final week!)

Seeking to outwit all the cuckolds in town whose wives routinely cheat, Monsieur La Douche reaches the culmination of a long term plan to train the perfect wife – completely innocent and pliable to his will – in this new translation of Molière’s classic comedy.

From Robyn Lester’s review: David Whiteley did a fantastic job making this play palatable to modern audiences, while staying true to the rhythm and rhyming verse of the original. Not only will it keep you laughing, it will have you thinking in rhyme long after the show is over. (onstageottawa.com/theschoolforwivesreview)

As a bonus, here’s a bonus video featuring honest to goodness audience reactions to The School for Wives:

The School for Wives runs now through September 27th. See it while you can.

The Dining Room (final week!)

The dining room: a place where family assembles daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions – a source of stability and permanence in a world of change. Through a mosaic of interrelated scenes – some funny, some touching, some rueful – Gurney creates a portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. Journeying through the decades, the actors change roles, personalities and ages as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids.

Two friends find themselves tumbling through time and space after discovering a time machine disguised as an outhouse. Every move they make could alter the fate of the entire universe…

Follow George and Lucas as they encounter some of history’s most influential figures and try not to screw the whole thing up on their journey back home.

Twistory runs for two nights only, September 26th and 27th, with each show being followed by a specially themed burlesque performance. More info: onstageottawa.com/shows/twistory

The Ottawa Improv Festival

After a two-year hiatus, The Ottawa Improv Festival returns, promising a three-night showcase of electric improv from across Canada. Twelve troupes in total will be converging on Ottawa the last weekend of September, to bring us some of the best and brightest comedy the country has to offer.

Each night will be split into two shows of varying tone and style. From musical improv to sketch, from long form to short form, there will be something for everyone! Whether you are a seasoned improv spectator or brand new to the genre, the Ottawa Improv Festival promises to keep you guessing, laughing and asking for more!

The Ottawa Improv Festival runs September 26th through 28th with multiple new shows every night. More info: ottawaimprovfestival.com

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